News - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020

A very Happy New Year to you all, may it be a good one for you. To this I must add an apology for the lack of news during the last few months. As might be said in a school report “could do better” and, in keeping with this I shall indeed try to do better with updating your news in 2020!

FISHERY INQUIRY
In the last news, I mentioned that the Inspector had delayed publishing his decision. That decision was made in the middle of July. The long and short of it is that the Minister, Lesley Griffiths, accepted all that the 160 page Inspector’s Report suggested and adopted the 2017 bye-laws.
This now affects all anglers across Wales fishing for salmon and sea trout (sewin). It is a somewhat convoluted scene, in that the 2017 bye-laws refer, in many case, to pre-existing earlier bye-laws. Many anglers are far from happy with this, albeit every avenue of enquiry and appeal has been rejected. Bye-law 6 , which is inserted following bye-law 7 of the Rod and Line Byelaws 1995 (I did tell you!) now requires any sea trout to be measured from “the tip of the snout to the end of the tail” as against the fork of the tail.

In an effort to assist anglers NRW staff have created information schematics for many catchment areas, which information should be available on the NRW website.
What of the future? This is a question which is far from easy to answer. Having spent a considerable amount of time pondering this, I feel there is but one answer. In order to make progress in this, working together is probably the only option. To produce positive outcomes, my personal view is there must be a collaborative approach, where co-operation, mutual understanding and respect, are the order of the day.
Time will tell!

THREE LITTLE WORDS.

If, like me, you are frequently fishing off the beaten track, you might want to consider adding this app to your mobile phone. In the event of an emergency it will provide a location for the emergency services to locate you. The app is “what3words” and can be found in the App Store, where you will discover that the basic app is free. The technology is amazing! The World has been divided into some 27 trillion three metre squares and, using an algorithm, will place you in one square. That square has a code which shows as “three little words”! The three little words which come up on screen, do not and are not designed to make sense to you, but will tell the emergency services exactly where you are!

NEW BRITISH RECORD GRAYLING

The British Record Fish Committee, in July 2019, accepted that the 4lb 8 oz grayling caught earlier in the year by Simon Ellis from a “secret” Wessex river, was a new British record. This overtook the then accepted UK record by some 4 oz. Many congratulations to Simon for this. The specimen fish was taken on a fly and overtook the previous record, which had stood for ten years, of 4 lbs 4 oz 8 dr. The acceptance only followed stringent scale checking as part of the process.
Please remember there is a closed season in England and Wales (unlike Scotland) and your last day to fish is the 14th of March 2020, until the season reopens on the 16th of June.

LLYN BRENIG

For those who seek pike there is a new system in operation at Llyn Brenig this winter – Pike Pegs! This is in operation until the 29th of February 2020. The cost is very reasonable.
There are seven pegs which have been set out on the west bank of Llyn Brenig. Fishing methods and rules can be found on the Brenig website at www.llyn-brenig.co.uk
Of course if you want to show your family what you do at Brenig, once the boats are back in the water, you can simply hire a boat at an hourly rate and take them for a cruise around Brenig. The 2019 price was £25 per hour, with lifejackets being free of charge.
The Fishing Shop at Llyn Brenig now has a dedicated phone line, following the installation of a new system. For the shop dial the number shown on the website which is 01490 389227.

ATLANTIC SALMON STOCKS

HRH Prince Charles has endorsed the creation of the “Missing Salmon Alliance”. The Prince, himself the patron of the Atlantic Salmon Trust and Salmon & Trout Conservation, endorsed the coming together of interested parties, also including GWCT, the Angling Trust and Fish Legal. It is universally accepted that the sea stock In the North Atlantic has fallen to unprecedented low levels. The Alliance is chaired by David Mayhew who indicated “we all need to work together”, adding “we now need to work incredibly hard on all fronts to reverse the trend”.
We wish them well in addressing an agreed problem.

FISHING AT SCOURIE.

I intend to take a small number of anglers (maximum of six) to visit the Scourie Hotel in September 2020.
For any cynics out there – I shall be paying the same as everyone else!
For those staying at the Scourie, for three nights or more, there are some 46 beats which can be fished, in the most cases, free of charge. Some of the salmon waters do attract a small fee.
Details of the hotel and fishing available can be found at www.scouriehotel.com
The final detail has yet to be determined and will be a matter for discussion amongst those going.
Should you be interested please give me a ring on 01758 721654 to discuss further.

AND FINALLY

I wish you well for the start of your season in 2020, whenever that may be.